Fastweb changes the router that it includes in the Internet subscription, and the improvement is not only marginal: NeXXt is a mesh router which, together with the Booster repeater, can replace in most cases even more advanced routers.
Especially since the law for the liberalization of modems has been in force, and the Lazio TAR has confirmed the validity of the resolution that AgCom had issued two years earlier, consumers have more choice which modem / router to use for connection. In most cases, the one on loan for use is a modem / router with limitations or with little flexibility in configuration.
With NeXXt, Fastweb tries to please all types of consumers, from the most demanding to the less experienced, and it succeeds: the Internet Box is up to granular configurations, but knows how to give simple answers when needed. Even if with some hitches.
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Installation cannot be done alone
The new router + repeater system comes with all the new subscriptions, and if you are already a customer you can request the switch with a one-off cost of 49 euros. Within a few days, the technicians will arrive home to set everything up. Here is the first step that perhaps could have been avoided: the upgrade to the new router can only be managed by specialized personnel, which must communicate the serial numbers of the router and the repeater to the technical center for activation. The first configuration can take up to an hour, because the complexity is greater than with a single router: after testing the connection, the technicians will have to start the router, wait for it to download all the updates and then do the same procedure with Booster, the repeater. Both router and repeater take about 5 minutes to start up, because they have to download more packages than usual: in addition to the connectivity services, there are also those related to the Alexa voice assistant, which is integrated in both devices.
They both download the packages, reboot and install them multiple times, and during this process the technicians check if Booster is close enough to NeXXt and if at the same time it guarantees complete coverage of the whole house. The connection that is established between the two can be influenced by various factors: the distance, the presence of reinforced concrete walls and the presence of other routers nearby can reduce the stability of the connection, which Booster signals by flashing the main LED. If this happens, it does not mean that the two are not connected to each other, but that the performance of the devices connected to the Booster may not be the same as with a direct connection to NeXXt.
If on activation Booster flashes, and there is no other way to position it differently for ensure complete coverage of the house, you just have to wait: within a few weeks, Booster and NeXXt will optimize the network channels used through beamforming technology to stabilize the connection; in a nutshell, if there are ways to stabilize the connection, the system will find them.
Although during activation both devices will reboot multiple times to install new packages, they will only do so later during the night, to minimize the impact on connections existing. Once they’re up and running, the technicians are done with their work, but it’s time to configure the router settings with the connected devices. And here we see the great work done by Fastweb.
Configuration, quick and easy
First of all, you do not log in to the router via login credentials, but only if you are physically close to it, and Fastweb has configured a very intuitive two-step authentication system: when you log into the router (via the Web, by typing 192.168.1.254 or through the MyFastweb app), the computer sends a request packet to the router, which responds with a confirmation screen, which can only be completed by physically pressing two buttons on the router. Once the operation is completed, the router’s LED lights up quickly and the browser page refreshes, completing the login.
There are two levels of configuration and use from the Web and one from the app, and a level of use only: the two levels of configuration and use from the Web are the level Base and that Expert. The first has most of the information in reading, i.e. you can check the devices connected to wi-fi and via Ethernet in the Overview tab, check the VoIP call log in the Phone tab, configure name (Ssid) and password del wi-fi and decide whether to activate both the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands in the wi-fi tab, and finally check the memories connected via Usb to the router to be shared in the home network.
The Expert level, on the other hand, allows you to configure VoIP telephone numbers, set up a whitelist of Mac addresses, analyze the topology of the mesh network and configure connection parameters in a dedicated tab called the Internet. Both allow you to configure Alexa, the integrated voice assistant on NeXXt and Booster: it can be a bit tricky, because if you access it by typing the IP address (which is already set to 192.168.1.254), the connection will appear as not secure ( certainly, because it’s a home network connection, so it doesn’t need security certificates).
Alexa services do not allow the configuration which comes from pages that are identified as unsafe by the browser you are using, so the result is that you cannot configure Alexa from the site, but only from the app. At least for the moment: on the recommendation of Italian.tech, Fastweb engineers are already working on a solution to this problem that will be implemented with subsequent updates.
NeXXt and Booster, however, are usable to the maximum by the MyFastweb app, with features that are not present even in Expert mode via the Web: usage profiles can be set, specific for people, places and types of connection, to better balance the bandwidth between all devices. For example, you can create a profile for all devices in the living room, or a profile dedicated to children’s devices.
Regardless of the profiles, there are also modes, which allow you to filter the traffic of different internet services: with the Smart Working mode, traffic to streaming services such as Netflix, Dazn, Prime Video, and boosted traffic in video conferencing apps like Google Meet or Microsoft Teams. Smart mode automatically balances the bandwidth across all devices based on individual requests, and there is also a mode for disable all traffic to and from outside: very useful to avoid turning off the router during the night and to keep the home automation app routines that work perfectly within the home network.
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How many problems to make yourself understood by Alexa
Finally, the level of use only is the one with which you interact via Alexa, simply by asking “Alexa, ask Fastweb to check my internet connection” or “Alexa, ask Fastweb to open a request for technical assistance”. Unfortunately, to date, Alexa is unable to answer these questions except with an “Sorry, this function is not yet available”, but when it is it will allow you to check the connection and report any faults very easily.
Excluding the experience with Alexa, which is not yet complete, Fastweb reaches with NeXXt an excellent level of completeness in terms of functionality and performance, guaranteeing excellent speed and response times in every corner of the house. For comparison, with the FASTGate (the previous Fastweb router), the connection speed was reduced by more than 99.2%: on a 2400 Mbps connection, with peak transmission via wi-fi at 866 Mbps (next to the router), the speed in the far corner it was less than 6 Mbps both in download and upload. With NeXXt, a device connected to Booster in wi-fi 5 (therefore with transmission speed always at 866 Mbps) at the same point it reaches about 120 Mbps both in download and upload, thus obtaining a reduction of about 86% on a 5 GHz network. It sounds strong, but a 120 Mbps connection is still excellent for watching streaming movies in 4K Hdr.
With NeXXt, Fastweb has centered the needs of almost all consumers, although there are still room for improvement and optimization, both for Alexa and for the installation and configuration procedures.
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